April 2, 2013

It had been a week since Cinderella’s stepmother had forced her to move out of her bedroom and into the attic of the old house.

But still Cinderella was not used to her new sleeping quarters. It was a cold, bare, lonely little room. The only other soul around to keep Cinderella company was a skittish little mouse who she had seen scurrying in and out of a hole in a corner of the room.

She had always been fond of animals, and mice were no exception. But how could she let the little fellow know that he shouldn’t be afraid of her?

Well thought Cinderella, he must be cold … and hungry.

So one day, at suppertime, Cinderella slipped a piece of cheese into her apron pocket.

And that evening, when her work was finished, Cinderella hurried up to her room and pulled out her sewing basket. She used some scraps of fabric to make a mouse-sized suit of clothing: a red shirt and cap, a tiny orange coat, and two brown slippers.

“A tiny outfit for my tiny friend,” she said.

Cinderella carried the clothes over to the mouse hole and knelt before it. She pulled the cheese out of her pocket and placed
it, with the clothes, in the palm of her hand. The she laid her open hand just in front of the mouse hole.

“Hello in there!” she called.

A mouse cautiously poked his head out of the hole and sniffed the air. Seeing the cheese, he inched out of the hole and over to Cinderella’s hand. He paused and looked up at her questioningly.

“Go ahead,” she said kindly. “They’re a gift just for you.”

Seeming to understand, but still skittish, the mouse scampered onto her palm, picked up the cheese and the clothes, and hurried back into the mouse hole.

Cinderella chuckled, then waiting patiently for a few minutes, still knelling in front of the hole.

“Well,” she called after a short while, “let me see how they look on you!”

Timidly, the mouse came out in his new outfit. Cinderella clapped her hands.

“Perfect!” she said. “Do you like them?”
The mouse nodded. Then he jumped, as if an idea had just occurred to him. He scurried back into the mouse hole.
Cinderella frowned.
Had she frightened him?

But her worries vanished when the mouse reappeared – along with several other mice, who followed timidly behind him.

“More friends!” Cinderella cried. She hurried to get her sewing basket, delighted to have found the warmth of friendship in the
cold attic room.